Wednesday, October 14, 2009

My wonderful boss Nancy brought us in mini pumpkins for Halloween. I am not talking about the flat squished ones, this is a nice round one like you would carve, only smaller. I brought it home to figure out what to do with it and it has been sitting at my desk mocking me for two weeks. I knew I wanted to try painting it, but what to paint? Last night while surfing the blog world I found this cool Terrorific Tuesday project from My Big Mouth.I love the saying on the sign she did and new it was a perfect fit for my pumpkin!

Witch parking only, violators will be TOAD!

The side with loops and stars.

The back with more loops and stars.

Couldn't leave out the broom now could I?

I have to say, I am not by any means a painter and I did this all free hand and man it was not easy! I have a newfound respect for people who paint artistic works. I can also understand the love they have for it as even tho it wasn't easy to do, it was SO MUCH FUN! Maybe I will have to have another go at a bigger sign for home since this pumpkin is heading back to work!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

So I got this great idea from one of my myspace buddies to make spiders from Styrofoam balls. I have had the stuff forever and have been meaning to do them but we finally had some free time tonight.Our spiders turned into more then just spiders tho. We have ghosts and bats and pumpkins and ghouls and some special Jordan creations.So seeing how it is Halloween and these are super easy, fun and kid friendly, I am doing my first ever free craft project!

Spiders, Bats and Ghosts Oh My!

Supplies,Styrofoam balls, assorted sizes.Acrylic paints in assorted colors.Paint brushesFoam brushesHot glue gunPipe cleanersStick on CrystalsGoogly eyesGlitter PensPuffy PaintsTissue Paper(Basically any fun things you have around the house for decoration)Something to cover your workspace with, we used up some of our plastic grocery bag stash from when I forget my shopping bags.

1. Paint all of your Sytrofoam balls with a layer of your acrylic paint using your foam brushes.2. Allow to completely dry (trust me or you will have painty fingers like we did :) )Decorate with you random gathered supplies.

For Pumpkins, use 2-4 1 inch pieces of green pipe cleaner together pushed about halfway down into the top of an orange ball. You can pull them out after you make the hole and pipe in some hot glue to secure the pipe cleaners in.Paint on your pumpkin face.

For Ghosts, use a white ball, paint on a ghostly face. Optional, glue tissue paper streamers about a foot long cut into strips to the bottom of the ball to give it a ghostly appearance.

For Spiders, cut 2 pipe cleaners in half. Fold all four pieces in half again. Piece two folded pipe cleaners together for each side. Bend into spider leg shape (think like a chair with the back, seat and front legs). Bend the tops down about 1/4 to 1/3 inch and stick into opposite sides of the ball. Secure with glue before adjusting legs.

For Bats, Bend 2 pipe cleaners at the same time for a uniform shape. Make your first bend about 3 inches down into a V. Bend the bottom half of the wing into this shape VVVVV. Cut off excess and place one wing on each side of Bat, securing with glue. Cut 2 1" pieces, fold into v shapes and place on top of head for ears. I used two tiny scraps stuffed in the face for fangs (this would be a good idea for spider fangs too.)

Use your imagination and be sure to send me pictures of what you make!

Tori's GhoulMy eyeballs.Oh and I almost forgot. Colby and I finally made our Pirate ship that I got as a kit last year on clearance from JoAnn Fabrics.

Jax's Beads's Fan Box

ETSY

OWOH

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About Me

Hi, I am Jax. I am an LVN who will soon be going back to get her RN. I have been married to my husband Mike for almost ten years now. He can be quite the pain sometimes but I still love him anyway! We have three children, two girls Tori and Jordan and my son Colby is in the middle.
I grew up in Oregon in a small town in the Willamette Valley. We moved here to San Jose in 2004. I hated it at first but I have to say I am a California girl at heart! I love and miss my friends and family but I couldn't stand the thought of going back to the rain.
While I have tinkered in other crafts, beading is my passion. I have been beading for a little over four years plus a few projects here and there when I was younger. I can't wait to retire and own my own little bead store on the beach and learn to surf! I am gonna have to get a custom made sign, instead of out to lunch it will have to say, Waves are killer, gone surfin'!